7 Shot Serenade
by GoldenSymphony
Summary: Hojo has his grip on Vincent and is bending his will and going as far as restricting his freedom. Chaos on the other hand is molding Vincent in to something that he's not. Behind the scenes Sephiroth plots something sinister. Small bit of Yaoi/Shonen-Ai.
1. Chapter 1

7 Shot Serenade

He shouldn't have gotten too far involved, but he couldn't help it. It was for the one he loved. He had to pay the price…Just because of his actions and trying to prevent seeing anything happen to his one and only love, Lucrecia. He couldn't help it, it was pure instinct to get involved, but when Hojo caught wind of what he was doing, the mad scientist ended it all with a single bullet.

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The door slowly opened. Hojo poked his head in and then entered, cackling underneath his breath. "What are you doing, Vincent?" Hojo asked as he approached the long haired ex-Turk. Vincent turns around and looks back at the mad scientist. "Why do you want to know?" Vincent says sharply. Hojo sits next to him and looks deeply into the young man's eyes. " Don't catch a tone with me.." Hojo grabs Vincent's face and holds it in place. " You seem to be quite the gutsy one today, but listen here. You better hold your tongue when you're talking to me, because I'll have you experience the same thing that you did two days ago." The white coat clad man lets go of Vincent's face and stands up. "I have to go.." Hojo states. " Prepare for several tests to be done when I get back." Hojo exits the room, closing the door behind him.

"Why don't you just kill him already?! If you can't do it…I will." A voice stated. Vincent looks towards the door to see Chaos standing there, giving a devious smile. Vincent stands up and approaches the winged devil and stops looking him in the eyes. "It's impossible, the bands that I wear on my wrists keep me from attempting anything that may be considered escaping or assault. What can I do?" Vincent asks. Chaos examines the shiny black bands that were on the ex-Turk's wrists.

" They may be powerful, but they're not unbreakable."

"Can you break them?"

"No….Not in this state….Being a projection of your ."

"So how can I get rid of them?"

"Does Hojo ever take them off of you."

"Yes…"

"When?"

Vincent begins to cringe at images that flew through his head as he thought about the last time he took off the bands. The ONLY time that Hojo took the midnight black bands from around the young man's wrist was when Hojo was having his way with him. He only took the bands off so that Vincent would be able to put up a fight as Hojo horribly raped him. That mad scientist loved those who put up a fight.

Chaos noticed Vincent's sour expression upon his face and closed his eyes to see what he was thinking about. Chaos's face lit up as he saw Vincent's thoughts race though his mind. "Oh, I see now. That's why there are scars up and down your body. Hojo did that." Chaos said in a surprised tone. Vincent unbuttons his white shirt and looks down at his chest. He gazes upon the various scars that decorated his pale body. "They bring back horrid memories." He states. " I prefer not to think about them…"

"Hm….Well I can't help you there…You might have to earn a few more if you want to be set free."

"What?"

"You know what I mean…"

"What are you saying?!"

"Get Hojo to take them off."

Vincent's eyes widened and he gave a Chaos a death glare. Chaos smiles and folds his arms. " You know better than I do that there isn't any other way than to piss the old bastard off and get him to abuse you in ways unknown to man." Chaos bluntly states. Vincent quickly turns around and begins to stare out of the window. He hated the idea that Chaos suggested to him and prefer that he not attempt such a feat, but there may be no other choice. "You have no other choice, Vincent…You'll have to do something that'll piss the fool off…and piss him off good." Chaos informs. "And I know a way….See that door? Well all you have to do is break it down and roam around the house…Simple enough? It doesn't matter what you do in this mansion…For all I care….Go outside and run around. Go far-"Chaos was interrupted by Vincent who said, "But these bands prevent me from escaping."

"But wait…There's a major flaw to those bands and I will tell you. They require a button to be pressed, but guess what? Hojo's not around to press that awful button now is he? Now go over there, break that door down and escape."

Vincent approached the door and stood there, staring at the dull, tarnished, brass knob. Then he looks up and a frown came upon his face as he kicked the door down and exited the room. Vincent roamed the house, he knew that he had enough time to basically do anything since Midgar was quite far from Nibelheim and it only took a few hours when riding in a jet, but Hojo was going to get that fixed today. That would mean Vincent would be confined in the Shinra building for as long as he knew it, that is, if he can do something about his current situation before Hojo attempts forcing him to go to Midgar. Vincent goes down the stairs and out of the door.

As he steps into the light of day, Vincent shields his eyes from the blinding light. He notices that Chaos's image disappeared, but this didn't bother him, he knew that Chaos was there in his mind waiting for his moment to shine. "Now which way…" He went south, past the hotel and left Nibleheim. He was free, and he had never thought that something like this was so easy, but this also made him skeptical of what's to come.

Vincent looks at the vast mountain ranges that surrounded him; he even looked across the vast body of water that was a few miles in front of him. He could choose one of three choices. The first choice was to travel across and reside in Corel Village where there was a slim chance of Hojo finding him. Second was to turn back and head in the other direction. Vincent could've always gone up Mt.Nibel's mountain paths and eventually hit Rocket Town or lastly he could try and cross the water, but that would only decrease his chance of surviving that task. The young man had to think and he finally decided. "Rocket Town it is…"He declared as he headed back into town. Before he took a full step inside of the town limits, Vincent caught a good glimpse at a white coat. Now, Vincent's mind was racing, his heart was beating faster and faster, and he could feel himself sweat. He couldn't see a head, just a body. Vincent slowly creeped around the corner and squatted behind a crate, carefully looking at the other people that stood around the gate to the Shinra Mansion. Vincent touched the holster that was strapped to his thigh. "Damn, " He muttered. " I don't have my weapon on hand."

Crash! Boom! Crack! Many noises of destruction spilled out of the house and into the open. The person in the white coat ran out of the house and exited the gates. "Where the hell is he?!" He yelled. Vincent knew that voice very well. It was Hojo, but why was he back so early…It was too early for him to be back in Nibelheim. Vincent did the first thing that came to mind…run. He left the town and sped out into the open fields. "Why not let me take over?" Chaos suggests. The voices in his mind began to rise and speak up. Death Gigas, Galian Beast, Hellmasker, and Chaos were all adding in their own suggestion, but Chaos demanded the floor and took it. The other three shut their mouths quickly and allowed Chaos to speak. "Let me take over, I have wings and I can fly for long distances and I wish to kill all those who oppose me especially that bastard Hojo."

"I refuse…"

"Do you not care about your life or do you wish to kill us all?"

"Neither…I'll just climb Mt. Corel and continue over to Corel Village."

"NO, I will take over this pathetic body and do the right thing. Your foolish plans piss me off!"

Chaos began to rebel in Vincent's body. Vincent fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself trying to keep the demon in. Chaos was putting up a fight, one that Vincent may lose. Chaos clawed at the barrier that separated him from the real world, being on the outside, or however you wanted to put it. "Just give in Vincent! Your fragile body can't handle me ripping at this wall forever! I'll break through and then all hell will break lose and I will show Hojo who's boss!" Chaos shouts. Chaos's strikes at the barrier become harder and harder and Vincent could feel himself weaken from the strain.

Inside, Chaos had cracked the barrier. "Vincent, don't you trust me? I am only going to kill that sorry bastard, Hojo…no one else, I promise." He assured the struggling human that he resided in. "Just let go. That's all you have to do. Let go and drop the barrier that you have placed between me and the only way out." There was too much strain on Vincent's fragile body. Eventually, the poor man slowly closed his eyes and did what Chaos said and let go which severed all ties with the mental barrier that he placed to contain Chaos. The demon took this perfect opportunity and revealed himself . Vincent was completely transformed, he looked demonic with his huge black and red wings and yellow eyes. "Free, at last!" Chaos stated in a relieved manner. "Now to take care of business."

Chaos jetted off and flew through the town's entrance. The frustrated scientist was standing infront of the gates sending out people left and right making sure that the cover every possible area even though he had a limited number of people. Chaos hovered over head and smirked down upon them. "Hojo!" Chaos called out. Hojo immediately looked up into the sky and saw Chaos floating in the air. Hojo called his men back and then returns his attention to Chaos. "Chaos…" He hissed. "What do think you are doing breaking out of your room? I've told you, especially Vincent, many times to stay in that room until I get back. Attempted escape equals punishment and to think I have encountered a special guest before I could take off. The President of Shinra is here to see you and Vincent. Let's make this simple and let this day go by smoothly by having you come down from there and going into the mansion." Chaos folds his arms and laughs manically.

"Like hell I am! I know your trick. I'm not stupid Hojo…Why would President Shinra be here?! He would never personally see you unless he definitely had to."

Hojo snickers and gives Chaos a devious look.

"Okay, so what? I lied, but I do need you to come with me, my wondrous experiment…We're moving to a complex in midgar. I need you to come with me."

"And what exactly makes you think that I would come with you just because you said that?! Cause you would have to drag my carcass over to midgar, but I doubt it that you would ever kill me."

"Humph! I'm tired of all of this psycho babble…I'm going to end this nonsense."

Hojo signals the men that came with him to exit that town. It was about to get violent in Nibelheim. Chaos was at a slight disadvantage because he didn't have his gun, the Death Penalty, with him. Hojo on the other hand didn't like getting his hands dirty so he had his own way of getting the job done. Hojo reached into his pocket and pulled out two capsules. He throws them onto the ground in front of him and within a flash two hideous monsters arise from the ground, ready to spill blood. Chaos smirks and readies his hand. He holds his arm down at an angle and aims for the monsters in front of Hojo. He launches a large dark red beam down at the ground. It causes a huge explosion that, luckily, didn't destroy the town, but was strong enough to blow Hojo's creatures up and send the scientist flying into the wall behind him. Chaos lets out maniacal laughter as he watched Hojo stand up. "Damn you." Hojo muttered.

A shadow flies by Chaos. Chaos whirls around to find out that no one was there and before he knew it, he found himself on the ground wounded. "What the hell?" Chaos mumbles into the ground. "I couldn't even see what or who that…." Before Chaos could finish his sentence he transformed back into the raven haired Vincent Valentine. Hojo loomed over him with a sneer on his face. He kneeled down and lifted Vincent's head up by his hair. "Don't think that you're going to go on without proper punishment…Wait until we get to Midgar. I'll show you punishment at it's fullest." Hojo threatened. He let Vincent's hair go and stood up. The young Ex-Turk blacked out and his body became limp and loose. Hojo looked over his shoulder and snorted.

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Chaos's decisions were reckless. He was always like that even before he was a part of Vincent. It seems as if he hadn't changed a bit.

Vincent regained consciousness and found himself in a well lighted room. He sat up and noticed that the wound that he mysteriously received, which was a large gash in the side, was dressed in clean bandages. He stood up and looked for a shirt. He found a clean white shirt folded in a chair in the corner that wasn't too far from where he was standing. The room wasn't big it was small, quite like a prison cell, but it wasn't much better than the old musty room that he stayed in before. There was a small silver toilet in one corner, a bed near the wall, and a chair in another corner. Vincent slipped the shirt on but didn't button it up. He moved over to the door and began twisting the knob, but it appeared to be locked. "Not again…" Vincent groaned. He returned to the bed and sat down.

Click! Clack! Clack! The knob began to rattle and then the door slammed wide open. Hojo charged it slamming the door close on his way in. "What the hell were you thinking?! Were you trying to ruin me?! Put me to my death?! Oh, I see, you were in cahoots with Chaos! You let him take over your body just so he could be the one to kill me! You want death, hunh?" Hojo ranted. Vincent didn't want to listen, but he practically had no choice but to, but his mind began to wander, but he knew that he had to eventually lie just so he could save his own ass. Vincent needed to get out of this room before things got hot. "I was trying to find you." Vincent blurted. Hojo stopped ranting to ask. "What?" Vincent continued on with his lie.

"I was looking for you…"

"Why? I was only going to Midgar…What's the deal?"

"I…I…I wanted to give you something."

"Like what?"

"A file…"

"What file?!"

Vincent was backed into a corner. He didn't know what files that Hojo had as a matter of fact he hadn't left the room in 5 years so how could he know what files Hojo had? Yet, it seemed as if Hojo was buying it. Now was a great time for Vincent to take the opportunity and run with it. Now was his chance for him to get Hojo out of the room.

"The Delta file…You dropped it in the hallway."

"Do you have it?"

"I didn't….have time to pick it up."

"That doesn't make any…..Wait…"

Hojo glared at Vincent, it seemed as if he caught on for a moment. Then things began to turn in Vincent's favor, for awhile.

"What color was it?"

_Color?! Color! I didn't know that there were colors._ Vincent thought as he stood up and began to move a little though it was a little difficult for him. Vincent decided to pull a color out of thin air.

"It was red."

"Red?"

"Yes, red."

Hojo folded his arms and thought. "I lost a red file? Well I guess I need to go and check and see if you're right." Hojo states. The scientist leaves and partially closes the door behind him. Vincent gives a heavy sigh of relief and opens the door. He looks down the hall to see if the coast was clear and fortunately it was. Vincent carefully and cautiously walks down the hallway making sure he doesn't get caught. He turns a corner and enters the stairwell. He speeds down the stairs quickly, but carefully. Once he hit the first floor he jetted out of the stairwell and ran into something black.

"Ow!" Said the mysterious person, but Vincent on the other hand was quickly apologizing as fast as he could. "What's wrong, why are you in such a hurry?" Vincent looked at the person and noticed that he was one of the Turks. Vincent's mind began to panic. What if he knows Hojo and what if he tells him that he escaped…If that ever happens then he would be screwed for life. "I need to go…Seriously…I need to go." Vincent said hastily. The man places his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "You look familiar, do I know you? I'm Tseng." He says. Vincent looks towards the floor uneasily. He knew Tseng; he used to work with him a few years before Hojo got to him. "Well that's not important." Tseng says. Vincent breaks away from Tseng and runs out of the building, in fear of being caught by Hojo if he found out that he escaped. Tseng looks at the fleeing Vincent and says to himself. "Something's wrong. He's trying to escape from something or some one…I have a feeling that he'll be back." Tseng walks up the stairs.

Outside rain was falling heavily upon Midgar. Vincent had no idea where to go, as long as it was far away from Hojo. He began walking forward. He knew that he need to get out of this rain as soon as possible but his determination didn't let him stop. He came to the edge of a bridge that arched over train tracks. He could hear a Train coming in the distance. When the train revealed itself, Vincent hopped over the edge and hitched a free train ride to the sector 7 slums where he hopped off and proceeded into the main part. "You seriously need to man up and kill Hojo." Chaos suggested. Vincent ignored him and entered the nearest building that he could find.

"Welcome to Seventh Heaven, How may I help you?" Said a busty woman with long brown hair. Vincent sat in a chair and said nothing. "Keep me away from that place. " What place?" the woman said. "Tifa, don't mess with him… He's probably some crazy that stumbled in hoping to get some free drinks." A blonde haired man mutters to the woman. "Cloud!!! It looks serious!" Tifa snaps. She walks over and kneels beside him. "What's wrong?" Vincent looks up at her and shakes his head. "Don't worry…I don't want to get you involved…" He replies. Tifa shakes her head and gives Vincent a concerned look. "No, no, no. I want to help you. You look as if you could be in some serious trouble." Tifa states. "I'm more than willing to help you in anyway possible and Cloud is more than willing to help too." Vincent gives a small smile in response to Tifa. "I'm sorry." Vincent begins. "You're offering me your help, but I cannot accept. I must go at this on my own. You have little knowledge of who I have to deal with…" He stands up and heads towards the door. "Wait." Cloud calls. Vincent turns around and looks at the blonde. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to come by here." Vincent smirks and nods then makes his way out of the door.

Hojo stormed down the hallway and into President Shinra's office. "I demand use of the Turks." He shouts. President Shinra faces Hojo and stands up straightening his coat. "Why's that?" Shinra asks. Hojo clears his throat and begins to speak. "You know my recent experiment, Vincent? Well he somehow escaped and now he's in Midgar roaming around trying to run away from me. I need the Turks to go out and look for him and capture him." Shinra places his hands in his pockets and approaches Hojo. "Certainly, I let you use them. Just make sure that you know what you're doing. I'll let you organize the mission and you can carry out the plan. Just don't screw up!" Hojo leaves the office and begins walking over to where the Turks resided, before he touched the door a voice sounded behind him. "What do you need with the Turks, Hojo?" Hojo looks over his shoulder to find Tseng looking at him. "You'll see." He opens the door and enters the room, Tseng follows behind him.

"Well if it isn't the mad scientist himself!!!" Reno shouts. "What are you doing in here?" Hojo glares at Reno and walks past him. "I have a mission for you-"Hojo is interrupted by a question from Reno. "Are we getting paid extra for this?" Hojo shoots Reno another nasty look. "I want you to bring back Vincent Valentine for me." Reno spoke up once again with, " Isn't that the guy you brought in earlier with the long black hair, red eyes, pale skin….When he came in here he was wearing red and black." Hojo glares once more and then states. "You just won't shut up, will you?"

"Why should I?"

"Cause you're getting on my nerves."

"Good…I aim to please."

"I am going to shoot you."

"Go ahead, you old geezer."

Hojo reaches into his coat for his pistol, but is stopped by Tseng. "Reno, stop being an ass and listen." Tseng commands. Hojo places the pistol back into his coat and then continues. "Well, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted and yes you're right Reno….That's how he looks, but he's unarmed so there's nothing to worry about….sort of." Elena places her hands on her hips and asks "What do you mean sort of?!" Hojo chuckles slightly and answers Elena's question. "Well, he can transform into four deadly creatures: Death Gigas, Hell Masker, Galian Beast, and lastly Chaos. You need to beware of Chaos, he could probably take over Vincent's body at any moment and kill you all. Yes, he's just that powerful. Chaos is willing to rip your heads off and shove them up your ass or another person's. Knowing Chaos he'd probably do something worse." The whole room was silent, so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Rude began to rant. " Are you crazy?!!! You expect us to just go out there and capture some man with a rabid demon in him?! You must be out of your damn mind thinking that I going to get my head shoved up Reno, Elena, or Tseng's ass just so I can find Vincent Valentine!!! Hell no! And I mean it!" Hojo chuckles. " You have no choice. It is President Shinra's order." Rude begins cursing under his breath. "I would like all of you to start right now if you don't mind. Oh, and if you survive, you'll be getting extra on your paycheck." The Turks begin exiting the room. "So how are we going to cover all of Midgar and find him? Before we find him or even think about finding him, he's going to be good and gone." Reno states bluntly. " Just prepare to have your head shoved up someone's ass, Reno." Rude states and then laughs at his own remark. Elena and Tseng groan and begin walking faster. " How about we just split up?" Elena suggests. Everyone stops and looks at the young blonde woman with surprise. "You're kidding me!!!! Did Elena just-" Reno began and Rude continued with "Come up with a plan?!" And Tseng ends it with. "Because she never comes up with plans it's always me who thinks up the stuff." Then the three of them say together. "What's the world coming to?" Then with out warning Hojo walks by saying, "An end!" He then continues walking laughing maniacally. "What a bastard…." Reno mutters. "Heard that!!!" Hojo yells. "Deduction from payment!" Reno yells then he notices that his teammates left him. He ran down stairs after them.

Sector six slums weren't the best place to end up at, but Vincent was there and he knew nothing of these different areas. He began to wander and search for a place to stay. He saw too hotels in the area both of them were very unappealing to him, but a place is a place. A hotel wasn't meant to be all that appealing, just suitable enough to bring in customers. Vincent saw the Honey Bee Inn and turned his nose up at it. Then he moved on to the…Less flashy one and decided to put up enough money for a three night's stay. Vincent stayed in his room over half of the time, he wasn't interested in going out and seeing what's in town mainly because he knew that the Turks were probably out and about searching for him. Occasionally he would go out to eat or get some take out, but nothing more. Even though it was his first day being away from Hojo, somehow he felt as if he was being confined in some way. Vincent turned on the television and began to watch it. An image of Chaos appears next to him. "So are you planning on killing anyone lately?" The demon asks. Vincent once again ignores Chaos and watches the television.

"On today's news," The woman on the television reports. "A person escapes from the Shinra building. It is said that he is potentially dangerous and extreme caution should be exorcised when you encounter this subject. Do not and I repeat do not fight him. If you encounter this subject call 526-000-XXXX to contact Shinra and report your sightings. So far sources say that the Turks are on this case. They have been dispersed through out Midgar and are currently-" Vincent shuts the TV off and lies down on the bed. " I might be screwed." Vincent mutters. Chaos looks down at Vincent and says. "I could've told you that and if you would listen to me and let me kill some people then I could remedy you of all of this once and for all." He leans over and whispers something into Vincent's ear. Vincent's eyes widen and he quickly sits up and looks over at Chaos. "You remember that event? Surprising, now you couldn't forget that day. It was my favorite day of all." Chaos continues. Vincent's eyes slightly glowed but he closed his eyes and shook his head and when he reopened his eyes they were back to their normal color. "Must you torment me? Do I actually deserve this?" Vincent asks. Chaos stands up and folds his arms.

" Deal with it Vincent…You almost slipped. If you let my bad intentions seep through, then I might decide to take over your body and reap havoc on the Shinra cooperation."

" What would the point of that be?"

" To get back at Hojo and all of them Shinra bastards that resides there. Heck why not just blow up all of Midgar? Then we won't have to worry about anything."

" You wouldn't do that…."

"Oh? Do you want to bet?"

Vincent was afraid to take Chaos up on his offer. He knew that Chaos was the type to actually go out and blow stuff up and he knew that the conniving demon would do it just for the sight of blood. "Nothing to say?" Chaos taunted. Vincent stayed silent. " Thought so." A knock came from the door and Vincent sat up and looked over at the oak door. He stands up and moves over to the door looking through the peephole. Vincent backed away from the door slowly. He looks over at the window and slowly opens it. "What are you escaping or something?" Chaos asks. Vincent didn't say anything and just exited the hotel through the window. " You can't escape, Vincent." Vincent stops and looks over his shoulder at a shadowy figure that just stood there staring at him. Surprisingly it wasn't any of the Turks but the silver haired man himself, Sephiroth. "Why are you here?" Vincent asks him. Sephiroth chuckles and then approaches Vincent and wraps an arm around him and mumbles into his ear, " You can't escape Hojo…He will find you…and when he does you know what'll happen." Sephiroth disappears before the next word could be uttered. Vincent took a few steps forward and looked at his surroundings. Sephiroth was gone, nowhere to be found. Vincent reenters the hotel and quickly walks by the Hotel manager and back into his room. Vincent lies down and closes his eyes hoping to get goodnights sleep. Outside the room the hotel manager was making a private phone call to some people on the upper plate, without a doubt it was Shinra. Once the phone call was finished the manager places the phone down quietly and hopes for immediate results as he sneaks off to bed.

The next day, Vincent is slowly walking across the room and into the main hallway. He stopped at the vending machine and snagged a large honey bun from it. As he left the fact that he needed a gun became the main thing on his mind. He exited the hotel and went directly to the weapons shop. He placed his hand on the door knob and tried to turn it only to find out that it was locked. "It's closed. I'll have to come back later." Vincent states to himself. "You're not coming back." A familiar voice states. Vincent turns around slowly and finds Tseng pointing a gun at him. Tseng approached Vincent with a look of sadness spread across his face. "Even though I don't know you as well…I feel sorry for you. I understand why you are running. Yet, I cannot let you go any further, either you can surrender, or I can make you submit by force. Chaos appeared beside Vincent grinning from ear to ear. "I could always kill him." Chaos suggests. "Don't resist me…Practically there's nowhere to go." Tseng continues. Vincent raises his golden arm and charges straight forward at Tseng. The young Turk dropped his gun and caught Vincent in his arms. Vincent thought that this was a martial arts move and decided to attempt escape, but something was wrong. Tseng's defense grip was actually an embrace. Vincent was then lost in confusion. "I feel your pain…" Tseng mumbled. "Though it has never happened to me…I can feel what it's like just being near you, but I'm sorry." Tseng ended it all with one mighty blow to Vincent's stomach. Vincent began to lose consciousness and fall to the ground. Before he touched the ground Tseng caught him and then picked him up. "I'm sorry, Tseng muttered. He began to carry him off.

"Where are they?! It's been too long." Hojo asks. Hojo was getting more and more pissed by the moment. He paced back and forward in the room that he stayed in. Hojo couldn't stand it anymore. He exited the room and quickly walked down the hall. "Why in such a hurry?" A white coated man asks. It was Rufus, President Shinra's son. He was a well dressed suave man who could tolerate many things, except for Heidegger's stupid laugh. "Don't mind me! I'm pissed…The Turks are taking too long." Hojo replies.

"Too long? Well…I just saw their helicopter just a while ago."

"It's been a day and eight hours since they left and…Wait they're here?"

"Yes…Just wait patiently and they'll be here."

Hojo went back into his room and shuts the door. He sits in a chair and waits patiently. Fifteen minutes passed and a small knocking came from the door. "Come in!" Hojo said with a demanding tone. The door slowly opens and Vincent walks in and slowly closes the door with deep disappointment on his face. "Lock the door…" Hojo commands. Vincent does as he is told and locks the door. The ex-Turk could feel his heart race. He began to speak but before a word could be uttered Hojo had slammed him against the wall and was strongly holding him tightly by his throat. Rage was painted across Hojo's face. He was pissed and it was very obvious. "You're dead!" Hojo growls, Vincent begins to prepare for the worst as Hojo lets go and walks away. "Sit." Hojo commands. Vincent sits on the plushy bed that sat near the wall. Hojo remained standing and moved over to a cabinet. He opened one of the doors and reached inside. Hojo pulled out a large knife and glared back at Vincent. He knew it. When Hojo said the words your dead it obviously meant it literally. "What are you-" Hojo readied the knife and then-

End of Part 1


	2. Chapter 2

7 Shot Serenade

Pt 2

Disclaimer: I own no one within this fic.

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He messed up pretty bad. Never before had a situation, such as this one, turned into something that resembled the pits of hell. Vincent had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. The question now is, will he come out in one piece or will Hojo ruin him for life.

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Vincent began to shift a little as he watched Hojo wield the knife in his hand. "What's he going to do?", "Is he going to kill me?" "Is he going to torture me again?" These various questions ran through Vincent's mind as he watched carefully. Within the blink of an eye, Hojo threw the knife. The knife whizzed past Vincent's head and hit the wall behind him, but it was close enough to Vincent's face that it left a small cut. The color flushed out of Vincent's face as he looked back to find the sharp object lodged into the wall. He stared into its shiny blade and could see Chaos standing behind him grinning from ear to ear. Vincent had thoughts of strangling the demon, who just sat there and watched, but he needed to worry about his own safety other than the demise of his inner demon.

Vincent faced forward and found Hojo about an arms distance away from him. Hojo took one step forward and leaned forward. He took hold of Vincent's face and stared him in the eyes. "How dare you run away from me?!!!" Hojo yells. "I know how much you want to be free…So much that you would lie to me. I'm disappointed in you." Vincent knocked Hojo's hand away and defied him. "I don't care how disappointed you are in me, you obnoxious bastard!!!!" Hojo's face had a snotty mad expression. He kept silent and stood up straight. Vincent had a little confidence come back to him, but it was soon wiped away when he felt a strong force being applied to the left side of his face. "So, that's how you feel?" Hojo said with a monotone voice. "You want to escape that bad? You think I'm an obnoxious bastard?! Huh?! HUH?! Answer me!" Hojo's voice then boomed. Vincent was leaning over to the side, his raven hair covering his face.

Then, Vincent began to hear a sound, a familiar sound that he hated to hear coming from Hojo. The quick rustling of clothes and the sound of them dropping to the floor made Vincent quiver. This brought of memories of when Vincent did something that pissed off Hojo for the first time. He was afraid to look up because if he did, he would only find Hojo's angry face and probably something more horrid than that. "Look up, Vincent." Hojo commands. Vincent didn't look; he shuts his eyes and hoped that everything would just disappear. "Don't make me repeat myself…" Hojo states, trying to restrain his anger. Vincent doesn't move an inch and he keeps his eyes closed. Hojo takes the nearest object and slams it down onto the table breaking it in half. Vincent jumps and opens his eyes on accident. He looked at Hojo slowly, taking note of how he had removed his shirt and was standing before him with a cold look on his face. "I thought that you was the good one…but you disappointed me, greatly, but don't worry probably after this…You can redeem yourself. " Hojo cackled as he took off his belt.

Vincent couldn't stand by and let this happen. He had to get out of there quick! The mad scientist was going to punish Vincent in his own cruel way. Vincent jumps up and speeds past Hojo and heading to the door. He fiddled with the knob trying to unlock it, but his hands were shaking too much to properly unlock the door. Hojo reached out and grabbed Vincent by his long, black hair and yanked him back. Hojo then pushed him onto the bed and sat on top of him. He began unbuttoning his shirt. Vincent's thoughts raced and his heart was beating fast. "Why must you do this?" Vincent questioned. Hojo takes off Vincent's shirt and then begins to fiddle with the belt that Vincent wore. " I need to unleash this anger in some sort of way…and you've been a bad, bad man…I must punish you in what I see fit."

Hojo had snapped. He would get this way frequently. Hojo could only take so much anger in one day and in one way to vent out this anger was to-

"If you resist," Hojo begins "It will only be ten times worse…As a matter of fact, I want you to fight back." Hojo dominated Vincent's mouth suddenly and began to have angry fun as he ravaged the young ex-Turk's mouth. Vincent fought Hojo but the mad scientist then pinned his arms down and restricted movement. Chaos stood over them and watched.

_That evil bastard!!! How dare he stand over me and just grin his ass of like that. I want to kill him in the most violent way possible._ Vincent thought as Hojo attacked him passionately. Hojo gave a sinister look. He had something in mind and he was about to carry it out. Hojo removed the last articles of clothing that he had on and then he moved over to Vincent and removed them. Hojo began to have his way with Vincent and Chaos was enjoying every bit of the horrid scene. The mad scientist did many things, many horrible things that could make a grown man's stomach turn upside down.

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Vincent was left on the bed in Hojo's room. He remained stationary for the past thirty minutes, tangled within the stained white sheets. His body hurt. It felt as if someone had beaten him with iron pipes. Fighting Hojo never worked no matter how hard he punched or how much flesh he scratched at. This time it didn't make much sense to attempt something that stood little chance of working. He wanted to move. He wanted to leave before Hojo came back, but his beaten body wouldn't allow him. "I'm sorry." Said Tseng, who was standing in the doorway. "I wish that I didn't have to do that to you." Vincent didn't reply, instead he rolled his body over and faced the wall. Tseng noticed how badly injured Vincent's back was. Horrid bruises and a something that resembled fingernail markings. " We may not know each other that well, but please…Could you at least accept my honest apology. "You're no ally of mine…nor are you an enemy." Vincent states. Tseng lowered his head some, but then he had an idea. "What if I could help you escape…Would you forgive me then?" Tseng offered. Vincent rolled over and faced Tseng. "I don't want to try anymore…I've learned my lesson so leave." Vincent said in a depressed tone of voice. Tseng's face changed into an expression that had 'what the f—k' written across it.

_How the heck did he let Hojo manipulate him like that?!_ Tseng thought. He approached Vincent and looked upon him. Hojo's poor victim didn't even glance up at Tseng, he just lay there…lifeless. Tseng looked at the stained sheets that Vincent laid in. He immediately became disgusted and hate for Hojo soon grew in him. Tseng had a clearer idea of what else Hojo may've done to Vincent. "Get up…and get dressed, we're going to go upstairs and clean you up…Then I am going to help you." Tseng declares. Vincent drags himself out of bed and snags the folded clothes that Hojo left out for him. He wore the collared shirt and dress pants but he refused to wear the coat and tie. Tseng took Vincent by the wrist and led him upstairs.

The two came upon a floor with a gym for one room and a shower room for the next. They approached the entrance to the shower and Tseng said, "Okay, here are the showers. Use them as long as you like…I won't be far. I'll stay on this floor." Vincent enters the shower room and begins to undress, but Tseng went over to the locker room and sat on a wooden bench. "Hey, Tseng!" It was Rude. He walked up to Tseng in nothing but a white fuzzy towel. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just helping someone."

"Who is this someone?"

"…….."

"Well?"

"Vincent Valentine…"

"What?! That guy that we had to work so hard to catch?! You've got to be kidding me. Why would you help him?"

"You have to understand first…I'm feeling sorry for him."

"You're feeling sorry for him…Okay, but if Hojo experiments on you…it's your entire fault."

Rude walks off and Tseng faces forward. He taps at his watch and gives a heavy sigh of boredom.

"How could you give in to Hojo?!" Chaos asks. Vincent ignores Chaos and pays more attention to the task at hand. "He has you obeying him like a little dog! You can't let this happen!" Vincent slams his hand on the tile wall and looks down.

"What could I have done?!" Vincent asks. "The more I fought, the more he was on me. How could I have done anything? Hojo is stronger than he looks."

"You have hands….His testicles were out in the open…and you could've unlocked the door from the inside…There's a plan right there, just put two and two together."

"………..You sick bastard."

"At least that's something…I didn't hear you come up with anything!"

"Shut up."

Vincent flings his hair back and tilts his head back, letting the water from the shower head hit his body and cascade down, running over every aspect of his body. Chaos folded his arms and turned away. "You know what? You can't let that man run over you…even if he does have you wrapped around his little finger. He might end up killing you-"Vincent interrupts. "It won't go on for long… I swear it." He turns the shower head off and exits the shower snagging his towel on the way out.

Tseng was getting slightly impatient. He stood up and approached the shower entrance. "You didn't drown in there, did you?!" he calls out. Vincent steps out of the shower fully dressed in a Turk uniform. Tseng's eyes widened as he looked at Vincent.

"Why did Hojo give you that to wear?!" Tseng began to question. Vincent looks down at him self and then walks toward a stairwell. He went up two flights of stairs and found himself located near the conference room. He could hear Hojo's voice coming from the room. Vincent exited the stairwell and followed the voice. It leads him to the entrance of the conference room. Everyone within the room stopped their talking to stare at Vincent. Hojo turned around and approached Vincent. "Aaahhh, Vincent. It looks as if you have come to your senses." Hojo states as he grabbed Vincent's face gently. "I can't have you roaming around the building on your own so you'll have to stick with me. Are there any problems with that?" Vincent's mind screamed yes but he was obliged to say, "No, sir." Hojo's eyes lit up as he heard Vincent unwillingly say the words No and Sir in the same sentence. Then, Hojo became suspicious. "Excuse me." Hojo says politely as he drags Vincent out of the room.

Vincent stood before Hojo and waited for an action from the black haired scientist. "What are you trying to do?!" Hojo asks "You're trying to make me look like an ass right?! If so then-"Vincent interrupts him by holding up his hand and stating, "You must be paranoid. I wouldn't do that. I know better, now." Hojo was lost, he didn't know what to say, instead he looked deeply into Vincent's eyes to determine the matter. "Strangely you're telling the truth…Fine then, follow me." Hojo commands as he reenters the room. Vincent follows and stands beside the entrance. Hojo begins to continue his speech. Every so often he would turn around to check on Vincent and he would still be there waiting patiently for Hojo to finish.

Reeve, head of Shinra's urban development glanced over at Vincent. He scanned him very carefully. _Something's not right about him. Even though he looks loyal, his eyes say torture. Now, I'm interested…._ Reeve thought. _Knowing Hojo, he probably did something to him after that little event…Maybe, maybe not. Hojo has always been quite the psycho, in my perspective. I can see everything within his eyes. Hmmmm. _

"Reeve!" Hojo called. Reeve snapped out of his train of thought and came back to reality. "Yes?" Reeve answered.

"Is something wrong?"

"No…I'm alright."

"It doesn't seem so."

"Why are you looking at me?!"

"Because…I can and these are my eyes."

Reeve didn't like Hojo. Every time he was rude to him or made a curt remark. He would have the urge to strangle the scientist's skinny little neck. "Meeting adjourned!" President Shinra announces. Reeve quickly stands up and makes his way to the exit. Vincent follows Reeve with his eyes and then redirects his attention onto Hojo. "Let's go…There's something that I want you to see." Hojo commands. Hojo exits the room and Vincent follows him.

They both go upstairs to the sixty-seventh floor. Hojo directs Vincent over to a weird dome shaped tank. "Look into it…" Hojo commands.

Vincent was getting a weird feeling. Something wasn't right about this contraption and yet Hojo wanted him to look into it. He didn't want Hojo wailing on him again so he peered into the tank. A headless body was floating within the tank. Vincent's eyes quickly scanned the creature and then he pushed himself away from the tank. Looking at the grotesque figure made Vincent collapses and breaks into a cold sweat. "What the hell is that?!" Vincent asks. _Help me…_ a voice whispers. Vincent drags himself away from the tank and moves himself out into the open. "Hmmm…Jenova has a weird effect on you…" Hojo states following Vincent into the open. _Help me…Help me…Release me from this pain…put an end to all of my suffering._ The voice states.

Vincent tries to ignore the voice, but it wouldn't leave him alone no matter what. Then, time freezes. Hojo is frozen in his tracks, the voices have stopped, and now there was a man in black with silver hair standing before him with a sinister grin on his face. It was Sephiroth, the man who he encountered at the wall market. "Long time no see. Oh? What's wrong with you? You're sweating." Sephiroth kneels and wipes the sweat from Vincent's face. "Did she freak you out? Don't worry she won't bite you…unless you plan to interfere. Then I'd have to kill you…but it would suck to have to kill someone as useful as you." Vincent gave a confused look. " What can I do? "

Sephiroth chuckles and looks over at the frozen Hojo.

"Chaos…Omega's squire to the Lofty heavens…The Lifestream…and the Lost Materia. All are in my master plan to accomplish something that will bring forth a new hell on earth."

"I will not take any part in this!"

"You will…Tch. I have no time to be playing with you! I have places to go. I'm taking Jenova, but before I do, I want to leave Hojo with a little gift from you and Chaos."

Sephiroth tapped Vincent on his head and as he did that time started and Hojo approached Vincent and looked down at him. Vincent looks up at Hojo. His eyes were glowing a bright red. "If Chaos is controlling your body, I'm ready for him. I've studied him enough to take him down." Hojo states confidently. Vincent stands up and walks off. Hojo found this really peculiar. The scientist began to follow him. Unexpectedly Vincent spins around and begins casting Bolt2 spells rapidly trying to strike Hojo down where he stood. "What the hell are you doing?!" Hojo asks. Vincent didn't answer instead he continued his onslaught of lightning spells. Hojo immediately casts reflect upon himself and made the lightning spells bounce back at Vincent. The spell didn't faze him a bit.

"I hate using this spell, but I need to stop this before it gets out of hand. Hojo buckles down and prepares to cast Ultima, the strongest spell in his repertoire. Vincent stopped his attack and stared at Hojo. "You know what? Why don't you just die?" Vincent questions. "You know everyone hates you…Even your own son. I don't know why you have to torture my body like you do now, but I'm getting sick of it. I will end it here." Vincent raised his metal hand. Hojo didn't wait for something to happen, he immediately casts Ultima before Vincent could unleash a deadly attack. The powerful spell threw Vincent for a loop and seriously hurt him, but it didn't put him to the point of death. Vincent tried to ready another attack, but Hojo runs up to Vincent and grabs him. Vincent struggles, but after that onslaught of spells he was too weak to break free. _Dammit!!! It seems that some training is at hand here…_ Vincent thought. Hojo was concerned. He didn't know what was going on with Vincent. First he was obedient and now he was out of control and a rebel. Hojo liked the fact that Vincent was a rebel at the moment. This urged Hojo to do something that no one would think he would do.

Sephiroth's influence over Vincent wore off and he returned to his senses but he found himself in a loving embrace being kissed by Hojo. Vincent didn't want the white wearing parasite clinging onto him. Vincent tried to push him off but Chaos had taken control of his arms and made him return the embrace. _Damn you Chaos!!! Why must you do this to me?! You know how much I hate him! _Vincent thought. Chaos laughed and answered. "I have to have fun, every so often. So why not take the moment and run with it?"

Hojo separated himself from Vincent and licked his lips. "You're as sweet as sugar." Hojo commented. "I see that you have come to your senses, now explain why you went out of control back there." Vincent wiped his mouth and responded. "Sephiroth froze time and appeared before me…He stole Jenova and then did something to make me go berserk."

"He stole Jenova?! Impossible."

"No it isn't! You know Sephiroth so anything could be possible."

"I'll walk over there…If Jenova is still there…Then you're going to have a lot of explaining to do."

Hojo approached the Tank and peered inside. The headless specimen was gone. Hojo looked back at Vincent and gave him an evil look. "You…Lied." Hojo said. Vincent begins to back up slowly. "But I saw him! He took it!" Vincent protested. "You're seeing an illusion!"

"Illusion?! Illusion? You're just digging your grave if you keep throwing this bull shit at me. You know I don't like being lied to. You didn't see Sephiroth…it was all an illusion too. You were just hallucinating. This won't go un punished though…You'll get your just desserts though."

"Heh…Like hell I will."

Hojo stopped. Vincent was being a delinquent. He stood up and moved over to the stairwell.

"What's wrong with you? First you're obedient and now you're some delinquent who wants to jump on thin ice!"

"What's it to you?"

Hojo walked away. He didn't want to put up with this any longer. "Don't leave the building…" Hojo said as he rode the elevator up. Vincent didn't pay him any attention, instead he went downstairs, all the way to the sixty first floor. Vincent sits at a table and lays his head down. "I can't believe I said that! What's wrong with me?" Vincent says into the hard oak table. Chaos sits in front of him and replies. " It's as if you have two sides…You know there are two sides to every story. One side of you is a tortured soul while the other is a bird wanting to get free so he'll do anything to escape from Hojo's clutches. That last incident or should I say punishment caused your tortured side to be more…dominant. It'll tell you to tread carefully when you're with Hojo…It doesn't want you to be brutally raped for the fourth or fifth time…"

Vincent groans into the table. "Hey." Reeve sits down in front of Vincent and begins to sip a cup of coffee. Vincent looks up, hair falling into his face, and then he sits up and looks at Reeve. "What do you want?" Vincent asks bluntly. Reeve clears his throat and folds his arms. " I want to talk to you…" Reeve starts but before he could start his next sentence Vincent interrupted him with the words, "No can do." He stood up and left Reeve sitting there. Reeve sighs and places his hands on top of the table.

Vincent traveled back to the sixty seventh floor and entered the holding cell that he once resided in. He lies down onto the bed and fell asleep.

Three hours have passed. Vincent slowly opens his eyes and sits up. He notices the door to his room was open so he hopped out of bed to investigate. Once outside of the door he notices that the building was quiet…Too quiet. He walked into the hallway and immediately noticed the words, "Darkness is never ending…Time runs out…and you shall bring about the demise…Your days are extremely numbered" written in blood on the wall. Vincent slowly walks forward and turns the corner he turns another corner and goes to the tank that held Jenova. The tank had a giant hole in it and bright purple liquid was spilt onto the floor. Vincent turned around and ventured up the stair case. He saw a deep red blood trail that led up to the top floor.

He arrived in President Shinra's office. He found president Shinra's body lying on the floor, headless. Vincent glanced at the body and then moved on. He went outside and looked up into the sky. "Hello, Vincent." Vincent whirls around and finds Sephiroth standing behind him. "Nice little lie you told back there…Hojo didn't believe not one piece of it, but I did get what I came for." Vincent approaches Sephiroth and draws a weapon on the silver haired enemy. He found a stun baton in his coat pocket. He wanted to use a gun, but he didn't have one on him thus he had to make due with what he had on hand.

"Don't draw that puny weapon on me…" Sephiroth mumbled while approaching Vincent. The Turk backed up and Sephiroth continued approaching him, unsheathing his sword. "I hate to do this, but before you interfere with too much I'll stop you." Vincent began to swing the Stun Baton at Sephiroth. The silver haired man blocked each attack with his long sword. Sephiroth retaliated, pushing Vincent back until he reached the edge of the building. "There's nowhere to go…." Sephiroth states. Vincent tries to attack but Sephiroth takes one hand and gently pushes Vincent over the edge of the building. The only thing Vincent saw as he fell was Sephiroth's smiling face looking down at him.

Vincent's only words were…."Is this the end?"

End of Part 2


	3. Chapter 3

7 Shot Serenade

Part 3

-Recollection-

Vincent soared down the building at a fast rate. "Will I survive?" Vincent asks himself. "Of course you will, but you'll have to let me do something to you…and no, it doesn't involve taking over your body." Chaos answers. Vincent was skeptical, but he had no choice but to let Chaos do whatever he was planning to do. "Fine, do what ever you have to do to save me." Vincent responds with a monotone voice. He takes a quick glance at the building and notices that he has passed the seventeenth floor. He panicked and yelled. "Hurry, Chaos!!!" Chaos took some action. He created a dark red and black orb that consumed Vincent. Once the demonic light dispersed it revealed Vincent with two large wings protruding from his back. Vincent flipped himself over and then before he was five feet from the ground, he zoomed back into the air. Vincent was flying gracefully through the air. "I need to inform Hojo!" Vincent starts. "He should know about this before-" Chaos interrupts him with. "Are you kidding me?! You're free! You should let those Shinra bozos get it!" Vincent stops and floats in the sky. "You may be right…" Vincent states. "I should run away, should I not?" Chaos groans. Vincent descends to the ground. Once his feet touched the ground, the large wings disappeared. Vincent ran into the Shinra building in a slight panic. Hojo was standing at the counter filling out some papers. He turned around and was almost tackled by Vincent. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Hojo rudely asks. Vincent scans his surroundings and sighs. "Sephiroth…" Hojo interrupts Vincent. "Don't start with this again…" Vincent backs away from Hojo.

"But it's true!"

"The last time you mentioned Sephiroth…it was nothing but a fat lie."

"Last time was an illusion…Created by Sephiroth… This time, it's for real!!!"

"Fine then…Tell me what's wrong so you can quit with this incessant rambling…We have to go to Junon."

"President Shinra's dead…The top floors are stained with blood… Sephiroth has numbered my days."

"Is that so…then show me the proof."

Vincent went up the stairs and Hojo followed. They took the elevator and went to the Seventieth floor. They exited the elevator and went up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Hojo saw the President sprawled out across the floor with no head. Hojo reached for the phone and started calling a few people within the building. Within the process of fifteen minutes dozens of Shinra personnel and Military police were in the office. By this time Vincent and Hojo had left the scene.

"So you were telling the truth?" Hojo says, looking down at Vincent. " I'm astonished. Come, we have to go to Junon. I have some business to take care of there." Vincent folds his arms and responds " I have been telling the truth the whole time so do you believe me now?"

"Yes…I believe you but I don't trust you."

"What?!"

"Don't question me…That's just how it is."

Chaos groaned and mumbled, "That's some bogus shit…Vincent, why don't you kill him, now?!" Vincent doesn't reply instead he continues to follow Hojo down to the first floor. Chaos is ranting continuously about why he and Vincent should murder Hojo. Vincent is becoming more and more agitated by the moment and it seemed as if Chaos was never going to let up. Hojo started talking and this added on to the agitation that was already bothering Vincent. The Ex-Turk just continued following Hojo and eventually entered a helicopter. "Are you even listening to me?" Chaos asked. Then the demon took a closer look at Vincent's face. "What's wrong with you? You look like crap." Vincent finally began to talk to Chaos with the use of his thoughts. "Well, with your incessant ranting and Hojo's blabbering…It was getting on my nerves. I am agitated and almost pissed…I just need some peace and quiet." Vincent folds his arms once more and slumped down in the seat.

"Awwww…Did I piss you off?"

"You are now."

"Poor baby."

"If you don't shut up…I will make a big scene right here in this f-king helicopter."

"You didn't have to drop the F bomb like that Vincent."

"Just leave me alone right now."

Vincent took one quick glance at Hojo. He looks down at Hojo's lap and saw papers that had the words: Omega, Chaos, Lost, and Lifestream on them. Vincent took interest and wanted to look at them, but he knew good and well that Hojo wasn't going to let him look at his documents so that was out of the question. "Did you lose something over here?" Hojo asks. Vincent quickly looks in the opposite direction and replies with, "No…I was just looking in that direction."

"There's nothing to look at over here…You have a window so look out that."

"I didn't notice that the helicopter took off."

"Why are you telling me that?"

"I'm just trying to make a conversation."

" Why don't you talk to someone else other than me?"

"Why don't you stop being rude and try looking on the bright side of things because you're starting to be an obnoxious, self righteous bastard again."

"There you go…calling me an obnoxious bastard again. Don't you ever learn, Vincent?"

"Well…if you don't want me calling you that… then maybe you should change your ways."

"Listen to me Vincent…I am not going to tolerate your trivial backtalk at this moment…We have more important tasks at hand."

Vincent's hand began to move into his inner coat pocket. His hand slid over a smooth object, but what could it be? A gun? Or another stun baton? It didn't matter which one it was, Vincent only wanted to do some damage to the hated scientist. He caressed the object more to get a good feel for what it was. He found it to be another stun baton. _That will have to do for the meantime…I will make this man regret ever talking to me the way he does. _Vincent thinks. Chaos gazes upon Vincent's hand as he revealed his stun baton. Vincent gives Hojo a sinister gaze and readies his weapon. Hojo isn't paying any attention to Vincent's movements and Chaos was getting caught up in the event that was fixing to take place. Vincent whipped out his baton in full length and pulled it back. With all of his might he swung his baton and knocked Hojo out. Chaos stopped with his mouth hanging wide open. He looked at Vincent then turns to stare at Hojo who had a large gash on the side of his head. "How hard did you hit him?!" Chaos asks. "You left a gash and a knot in one fellow strike!" Vincent looks over at Chaos and replies, " I don't care…He deserved it anyways…"

He didn't realize that what he did would take it's toll in the future…Did Vincent just dig himself a grave or did he finally relieve himself of this miserable experience with Hojo. Now he is questioning himself, whether it was a good idea or not…or if Chaos's violent suggestions finally gotten to him.

In two hours they arrived in the center of Junon. Vincent exited the helicopter with Hojo slung across his shoulder. He entered the closest apartment building that he could find. Luckily for them there was one room that was free and Vincent decided to liberate it from the landlord.

Vincent went into the center of the room and sat Hojo down. He pulled out a roll of silver duct tape and began to tape Hojo's arms and legs together, making sure that there was no possible way of escape. "What are you going to do with him?" Chaos asks. Vincent shrugs and searches the room for some more material. "He can wriggle around, I hope you know that….I think that you should at least tie him to a chair or the bed or something." Vincent picks up Hojo and carries him into the bathroom. He looks into the empty tub and tosses Hojo in. He looked upon the scientist with a cold expression. He wanted to do something else…Something that would be considered as getting back at Hojo, but what? What could he do that could get back at Hojo. Then Vincent realized that what ever he did, Hojo would only do something a thousand times worse. Vincent gave up on the thought for a moment and exited the room while closing and locking the door. The door locked from both sides so there wasn't any problem with him going inside when he felt like it and Hojo couldn't get out with his condition. "I'm tired…" Vincent states. He drags himself into another room and flops on to a fluffy bed. The ceiling fan was spinning slowly. Vincent stared at the blades go around and then he eventually dosed off and went to sleep.

Two hours passed. The sound of the ocean could be heard through the window. Vincent was still sleeping in his room. In the bathroom, Hojo finally regained consciousness and began to struggle. "What the hell is this?!" Hojo said before wincing in pain due to his head injury. "Now I remember. Vincent struck me across the head. Now, I am in an empty tub that is located in a windowless bathroom!" Hojo struggled to get up but there wasn't any success. Hojo soon got mad and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Vincent, you bastard!!!! Get your ass in here and set me free!!!! Dammit! Where are you?!"

Vincent didn't hear any of Hojo's yelling. He rolled over and his hand flopped over the bed.

Five hours have passed now and it was dusk. Vincent leaned forward and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He got out of bed and made his way over to the bathroom. He slowly opened the door and saw Hojo hanging out of the tub. Vincent stared at Hojo coldly and approached him. "Let me go!!!!" Hojo yelled. Vincent just blinked and pushed Hojo back into the pearly white object. Hojo looks up at Vincent and glares at him. Vincent sits on the lid of the toilet and looks down at Hojo in disgust. "Why should I?" Vincent asks in a cold voice. Hojo sits up and looks over at the raven haired ex-Turk. "Because you know that if I don't show up to do routine maintenance on certain parts of that underwater reactor they'll start asking around and soon they'll be looking for me." Hojo replies.

"Wait, you're a scientist…What do you have to do with the reactor?!"

"I have everything to do with the reactor."

"I fail to see how."

"Have you ever been inside of the Nibelheim mako reactor…Oh, wait of course not…You've been trapped in that room most of your life."

"You didn't have to bring that back up."

"I had to…It was a perfect opportunity."

"But I still don't-"

"Get it? Well don't worry about it…You'll understand later on."

Vincent folds his arms and leans back on to the tank of the toilet. He began thinking about what he could do with the captured Hojo. "I should just leave you here to rot…but my conscious won't allow me to do that." Vincent states. Chaos found this annoying so the demon yells, "What kind of idle banter is this?! Shoot the dried out old bastard and go bout you own business!" Vincent bends over and reaches into Hojo's pocket. He pulls out a small pistol and checks to see if it's loaded. He finds six bullets in the chamber and he closes it. He points it at Hojo's head.

"You can't do it." Hojo states. Vincent stares at Hojo then asks, "Why not?"

Hojo grins evilly and responds with, "You're weak…"

"I am not."

"Oh? then how about this? "

"What?"

Hojo began to imitate Vincent with a mocking tone of voice. "I can't take it anymore! Please Hojo, stop! You're being to rough!" Hojo stops to give a devious chuckle then he states, "Every time I punished you…You would cry and sob and plead for me to stop, but I didn't…I never did…You would whine about how much pain you were in. Heh. Just realize that I have you whipped. You wouldn't kill me even if you tried. Need I remind you of that one time where 'punishment' was like hell on earth?" Hojo began to mock him again. "I can't breathe! You'll kill me! I don't want to….Ahem…Well you know that part, yet in the end, I made you consume it all." Vincent began to reminisce and his body began to quiver. Hojo saw Vincent's reaction and continued with his torment. " What really got me was that time that you said Lucrecia's name after I was finished with you…Vincent, she can't help you…She don't even love you…If she did, she wouldn't have married me and then have a kid by me. She would never want you."

Those words made something inside of Vincent snap. He tossed down the gun and revealed his stun baton once more. He began lashing at Hojo in a blind rage, but unfortunately he missed and hit the tub each time but on the last swing. Vincent aimed for Hojo's face but his baton came to a screeching halt after he swung it. The baton was an inch from Hojo's face. Vincent dropped the baton and knelt onto the floor. He looked over at Hojo and then decided to release him. He undid the duct tape bonds and threw the remains in the garbage. Hojo stepped out of the tub and then immediately tackled and pinned Vincent to the floor. Hojo once again dominated Vincent's mouth with his and then breaks away to say, "Good Vincent…Now I won't have to kill you but…" Hojo slaps Vincent and then stands up. "Do that again and I'll beat you to the point of near death." Vincent leans gets off of the floor and adjusts his clothes. He exits the bathroom and sits on the sofa. "Vincent, I am going to the administrations office…I will be back. Do NOT go anywhere." Hojo commands as he exited the room and carried out his plan. "It's too dark…to be doing anything." Vincent mutters.

Vincent couldn't stay still. He had to move. He went downstairs and out of the apartment. He entered a random building to discover a gun shop. Different types of guns were displayed everywhere. There was one gun that immediately caught Vincent's eye. A black gun with silver designs. Vincent wanted this gun, he was tired of carrying a simple stun baton when he knows that he doesn't use a stun baton and never has used one until now. Vincent observed the price of the gun. "Two hundred thousand gil." Vincent nods his head, but then it finally registered. "Two hundred thou?! You're kidding me…I can afford it." Vincent pulls out a small card from his pocket and smiles deviously.

Vincent leaves the shop with a big smile, a black leather holster, and a brand new gun. "I like it." He states staring at his shiny black gun. He turns the safety on and then places it in his holster. Vincent continues walking down Junon he stops and turns towards the ocean. He could see a Shinra cargo ship in the distance. Vincent listened to the soothing sloshing of the water. Vincent became lost within the sound and he decided to sit down on a bench and relax. Even though it was pitch black, with poor lighting coming from Junon, Vincent still enjoyed the moment. He slowly blinked, but when he opened his eyes, a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. "What are you up to Vincent?" said a voice. Vincent turns around to find Tseng standing behind him. "What are you doing here?" Vincent asks. "I had to see you. After you left, I kept thinking of you. I had to get information from other people to find out where you and Hojo went." Vincent shifted a little and Tseng decided to sit beside Vincent and lean on him. "I missed you…" Tseng continues and then before he could say the next sentence his mind froze and his face turned red. Vincent caught on to what he said and looked over at the long haired Turk.

Tseng edged away from Vincent and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't say that. Hojo might get mad." Vincent stares at the water. He wanted to say something, but at this point in time his body failed to respond. Tseng didn't seem to notice though. "I would've talked to you before you left, but…I was afraid that Hojo may try to attack me. You've may've suspected this from before, but…I have feelings for you…I know that you may find this strange, but I do…I'm afraid that I can't hide it anymore. It's best that you know now then never. Well, who knows…You may've suspected it….and I finally confessed to you…well, naaaah. Actually I didn't. You're not even near me. I'm too busy talking to a simple picture. Hahaha…Maybe I'm going crazy. I know where you are and yet I can't summon the strength to see you…Well, even if I did…I couldn't leave the building without attracting attention. After you left…The building has been on constant lockdown because of that incident…" Vincent remained facing forward. _Why is talking as if I am not sitting here in front of him? Am I invisible? Or is he trying to get a point across?_ Vincent thinks. Tseng faces Vincent and then says, "Vincent, wake up…" Vincent's eyes widen and he tries to move but he couldn't budge. Tseng begins to fade away with a sad expression on his face. Once Tseng was gone, Vincent was able to freely move around. He stood up and scanned his area. The area was dark, and there wasn't a soul wandering the streets. More than likely, Vincent was in another world and didn't know that he was pulled into this mysterious land. "You fell asleep." Said Chaos. "And then you were pulled into an alternate land. Great and the bad thing is that nobody knew it until now! HA HA HA!!!!" Vincent began to move around. Vincent moved to close to the edge of the pavement and fell on top of the water. Yes, that's right, on top of the water. The water was flowing like it normally did, but Vincent didn't fall through. It was as if he was walking on air or on a floor made of glass.

Vincent could hear a faint voice in the distance. He began to follow the voice with a forlorn look upon his face. The voice had some familiarity to it, but he couldn't decipher what it was saying. He began walking towards the horizon. The voice suddenly stops and the landscaping changes. The sky was both day and night…stars glittered across the sky and beneath him was a dull crimson floor. "Vincent…" said the voice, but this time it was clearer and could be understood. Vincent knew who it was…He could see the face that went along with the voice. He turned around and saw the source of this voice. He couldn't believe it…Vincent couldn't believe who it was…How? Why? These questions bounced around Vincent's mind. "Why have you come to see me?" Vincent asked. "I came to say-----"The sentence was cut off, before the figure could finish. Chaos had his back towards the two. "Who are you talking to?" Chaos asks. Vincent takes a deep breath. "I'm talking to-------"

… To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

7 Shot Serenade

Part 4

"Lu-Lucrecia…" Vincent mutters. Chaos's eyes widened and he spun around. Before Vincent and Chaos stood Lucrecia Crescent. Lucrecia was Vincent's former love and the mother of Sephiroth. Vincent blinked a few times and began to slowly approach the young female. Chaos couldn't understand…How could someone, who was supposedly dead, stand before them? The winged demon didn't like the feeling that he was getting from this situation.

"Lucrecia…What are you doing here? You should…You're supposed to be dead." Vincent states. That last sentence left a sour taste in his mouth. Knowing that the one he truly loved was dead was something he hated to think about. "How could you?" Lucrecia begins. Vincent pauses and waits. "What did I-"Vincent begins but Lucrecia cuts him off.

"You are scarred in so many ways…Your mind…Your body…and your soul. Why?"

"I've had quite a rough life after you passed away."

"You let Hojo get the best of you . . . and now you follow orders and betray him like a confused dog."

"Lucrecia… Why? Why do you say these things? It isn't as if I allowed him to do these things to me. I had no other options."

"Don't worry about it, Vincent. We have more important situations to attend to right now, so please…"

Vincent stood there and began to listen carefully. Vincent's chest ached. He was determined to hold Lucrecia in his arms. "Look Vincent, you and Chaos are the key to obtaining a destructive power that only Sephiroth wants. You may not be the target right now, but Sephiroth soon plans to use you in order to get what he wants. You are the key when it comes to the Lost Materia…Vincent; please…Please heed my warning. Sephiroth will manipulate you. "Vincent once again approaches Lucrecia. "And…I don't want to lose you…." Lucrecia continues. "I love you so much…and I would do anything I could to help you, Vincent." Vincent rushed up to the young lady and embraced her. "I'm sorry, Lucrecia. I wish this had never happened to you. I'm sorry…I'm sorry." Vincent repeatedly apologized. Chaos, who remained standing in the background groaned and began to pace back and forth. Then, something black zoomed by. It caught Chaos's attention and he began to scan the area. The black object zoomed by again, making its way towards Vincent and Lucrecia. "Vincent! Watch out! There's something here other than us!" Chaos yells. Vincent couldn't hear Chaos's voice; instead he continued to embrace the one he loved.

Then….Before they knew it….

* * *

Lucrecia was the one I loved. I remember the first day I was assigned to protect her as she stayed within the Shinra Manor. . . .Even though we had just met on the first day I was assigned to the manor, I could feel a strong connection begin to grow from that day out. Everywhere she went…I followed. If she needed help…I provided assistance. I guess you could say that I was quite the love sick puppy. We would constantly spend time together. I could never get enough of her, but….unfortunately she had enough of me and went running to that bastard Hojo. Of all people…why? I was so broken, I could kill myself. Once Hojo shot me…I thought….I thought the pain would go away, but my dear Lucrecia…ahahaha… She made sure that I didn't slip away. Once Hojo was finished playing with my body…she put her heart and soul into helping me…I was very appreciative of that. Who would've known….that as soon as I was brought back to life…Her life would be taken away from me. . . .I felt as if something precious was stolen from my very being…

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Vincent…Who would've known that….he-"Lucrecia muttered. Vincent and Lucrecia were skewered by a sword of amazing length. The only person who could possibly own and wield this sword was Sephiroth, Hojo's son. "Silence, you fake. You've said too much as it is." Sephiroth mutters. The intense pain of steel surged throughout Vincent's body. Vincent was stabbed through his stomach. "Don't apologize, Lucrecia…You did nothing-"Vincent was cut off by severe pain as Sephiroth wrenched the sword around causing the two to feel pain and causing the ex Turk to bleed heavily. "Shut up." Sephiroth commands. "The two of you make me sick…Mother….you're just a fake…stop acting as if you feel any pain. You're just a mere figment of Vincent's pitiful imagination. Now be gone, you intruder…Leave this world."

A strong gust of wind blew Vincent backwards across the water, and slammed him onto the park bench. Once again, Vincent couldn't move yet, he could still feel that pain surging through his body. Tseng reappeared and this time he was red in the face. Vincent suddenly jerked forward, clutching his stomach, and crying out in pain at the top of his lungs. He threw up blood onto the sidewalk and attracted a lot of attention from the passersby that was now filling the streets. Tseng began to freak out a little, but in little time he lifted Vincent into his arms and carried him off to the nearest ShinRa medical facility.

* * *

At the Administrations office, Hojo was gathering up papers, yet as he did this various thoughts began to run through his mind. "I bet you that Vincent disobeyed me!" Hojo muttered. "DAMN IT! If that is the case….I can't sit here, read and sign papers all night long! If that bastard ran off! Then I-" Hojo suddenly pauses and then remembers something. A sinister smile then spreads across his face. "Now how could I have forgotten that little nifty device? Silly me." Hojo asks himself. Hojo gathers all of the remaining papers and leaves the signed papers in a stack on his desk. "I really have to get that device before I head back to that apartment. It'll be valuable." Hojo then leaves the room slamming the door behind him.

"Gya-ha-ha-hah!" Laughed a fat man dawned in green. Hojo stopped walking just to give this man a disgusted look. "Heidegger. Why are you here?!" Hojo questions. The roly-poly man chuckles a little and then replies with "I'm running a few errands for our new president, Rufus Shinra. Gya-ha!" Hojo's face continued to frown in disgust. Hojo shoves Heidegger aside and heads toward the door. "Your laughing disgusts me! No wonder you get along so well with Scarlet. Both of you laugh exactly the same…Like a pair of idiots!" Hojo growls. He makes his way into the hallway and towards the exit. As he walked down the hallway he muttered various swears under his breath. Hojo exited the building and stopped suddenly to look up at the night sky. Many stars of different sizes decorated the sky. He closed his eyes and began to reminisce. "Lucrecia…" Hojo muttered. "How I miss you….Though, I was always mean towards your little boy-toy and crude towards some of your actions…I really loved you." Hojo walked down the side walk and tightened his grasp on the papers that he carried.

_Under these same stars…our son was made. Under these stars was our very first kiss……under these stars was when I first proposed to you. There are many memories within this lonely sky…Many good…Many bad. I cannot walk outside without thinking about you. I still love you. I wish that you were still with me…even 'til this day. I was foolish. I let go of the best thing of my life and…_

These thoughts caused a tear to cascade down Hojo's face. "What the hell?" Hojo questions. "I am….Crying. This is preposterous…Dammit…I hate the night." He took out a handkerchief and began to wipe his eyes. "Damn it! Damn it! DAMN…IT!" Hojo almost went on a verbal tirade. Hojo stopped and took a deep breath. His memories of his late lover were raiding his mind and troubling him. Hojo stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket and moved further down the side walk, towards a large metallic building.

Hojo approached a silver door with some rust on it. Without looking he entered a pass code onto the keypad located to the left of the door. The door beeped, blipped and then slid open to allow the mad scientist into its quarters. The building smelled of metal and pine floor cleaner. Hojo's face scrunched as he smelled this odd combination of scents. "Well, I guess it's better than smelling like ass." Hojo mutters. He entered a large room with various gadgets and whatnots covering its shelves and tables. Hojo set the papers upon the large table that was located within the center of the room. "Now where is it?!" Hojo says as he searched through the various gadgets and machinery. "I know it's in here…Aha!" Hojo picks up a device that was in the shape of a ring. It was of a bronze color with a single green bulge protruding from the side. "This will fix him." Hojo said with a devilish smile. Hojo grabbed his papers and exited the room.

Tseng stood over Vincent with a worried look upon his face. "You'll be Ok Vincent. You'll be Ok." Tseng assured the ex-Turk. Vincent placed his hand on where the wound was located. Fresh bandages covered the injury. "I know, Tseng." Vincent responded. "I'm already fine right now." Tseng raised an eyebrow and Vincent began to remove the bandages. "No Vincent! You've only been here for three hours! You can't remove your bandages yet!" Tseng freaked. Vincent removed all of his bandages to reveal that the wound was gone. "But….How?!" Tseng then asks. He began to beat on Vincent's stomach as if nothing happened, but the raven haired man had to hold both of his hands to keep Tseng from causing anymore pain. "I may be healed….but that doesn't mean I don't feel pain." Vincent states. Tseng turns red and looks over to the side. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What all happened between you and Hojo? Why does he treat you this way?"

"I wish not to explain."

Chaos laughs. "He doesn't want to tell Tseng how he's Hojo's bitch." Chaos states. "There's no shame to telling him that you've been owned by that old bastard!" The winged demon began to laugh obnoxiously. The demon walks to the foot of the bed and looks Tseng dead in the face. He places his hand as if he were grabbing his chin. "My poor, love sick victim…There's absolutely no way that you're EVER going to win Vincent's heart…Especially with Hojo hanging around. Hojo wouldn't let Vincent out of his site even if his life depended on it. Nice try Turk, but you're out of luck." A chill runs through Tseng's body. "Why is it suddenly cold in here?" Tseng asks. "No air conditioner is on….and there aren't any windows. Maybe it's nothing." Vincent glares at the red and black demon. Chaos backs away and returns to his original position to the right of the bed.

"So what are you planning to do now?" Questioned Tseng. Vincent adjusts his clothes as he stood up. Vincent's expression turned sour as he began to think of an answer. Tseng moves closer to Vincent and looks him in the eyes. "Did I ask the wrong thing? " Tseng asks in a soft voice. Vincent shakes his head and looks at Tseng. "It's not your fault…I would have to blame Hojo for this." Tseng watches Vincent move around the room . . . pacing back and forth as if he was torn between two decisions within his head. Tseng approaches him and stops Vincent's pacing by placing his hands on his shoulders. "What can Hojo do to you? You're not with him right now, are you?" Tseng asks, in hopes of getting some information out of the man he had feelings for. Vincent once again shakes his head. "You don't understand how this man works, Tseng." Vincent replies. Tseng gives Vincent a concerned look. "That may be so but-"Tseng starts but is cut off by a distressed Vincent.

"No you don't! You just don't! The man abuses me! You don't know what it's like to be "Punished" by him! It's torture…Pure torture!"

"I see…I'm guessing that this has gone on for a long time."

"Yes!"

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said anything."

Vincent took a deep breath and focused his attention down at the floor. "No. No. It's ok. I should have kept my cool. I'm the one that should be apologizing…Not you." Vincent states. Tseng places himself in Vincent's line of vision and says, "Look. Don't worry about it. If you want, I will spend the night with you and make sure that Hojo never touches you." As Tseng said these words, Vincent began to relax and feel comfortable. "Thank you. So…Are you ready to go?" Vincent then asks. Tseng nods and the two of them head for the door. Chaos on the other hand was leaning against the wall. A look of disgust was spread across his face. "Seeing them makes me want to puke. I need to cause some destruction." He mutters. Chaos then disappears without a trace.

* * *

Hojo was sitting in the room reading through the papers he hadn't signed. Hojo had his pen in his mouth and his hand on the desk, repeatedly tapping on its hard wood surface. "All of this crap just to maintain one reactor . . . damn!" Hojo swears as he furiously takes the pen out of his mouth and signs his name on the document. He places the paper aside and moves on to the next paper. Once again he reads through and readies his pen for the signing. Before he could apply his pen to the paper he stopped because he heard the sound of a door knob turning. Hojo rolled to the doorway and poked his head outside of the room. The oak door slowly creaked open. Hojo watched carefully as a person walked in. The first to appear was Vincent. Once Vincent had taken a step through the door, Hojo immediately leaves his seat and quickly heads in Vincent's direction. "Vincent, how dare you leave the building?! I thought I told you to stay in here! Where have you-"Hojo stops in midsentence once he sees Tseng enter the room. A snotty expression spreads quickly across the scientist's face. "Tseng, how do you do?" Hojo asks, trying his best to be polite. Tseng slightly bows and responds with, "I am doing well…how about you?"

"I could be better."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I am wondering if it would be alright if I spend the night with you and Vincent."

"Shouldn't you be with Rufus?"

"How did you know about Rufus…Did you know that there is going to be a celebration in two days?"

"Celebration?! GAH…Dammit!"

"Is something wrong?"

"I have helped perform maintenance on the underwater reactor. This celebration only slows the process down by a day. My work shall be a day behind! Dammit!"

"The festivities shouldn't have much of an effect upon your work. Oh! I have one more thing for you Professor."

"What is it?!"

Tseng reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a fancy envelope with gold trimming. "Here's an invitation to the president's ball…Celebrating Rufus's succession to the presidential position within Shin-Ra. You are allowed to take a guest…if you so desire." Tseng informs. Hojo glances over at Vincent and then refocuses his attention back onto the envelope. "Thank you, Tseng…I'll take this into consideration." Hojo states. He then turns his attention on to Vincent. "I have something for you…."

Hojo enters the next room. Vincent and Tseng could hear the sounds of items being pushed together and pulled apart as if Hojo was searching for something. Then a loud Aha_! _Sounded from the room. Hojo came out with the collar that he picked up from the metallic building that he left earlier. The scientist placed the collar around Vincent's neck and locked it shut with the single press of a button. "What is this?!" Vincent questioned. The ex-Turk began to pull and tug on the collar. He began to repeatedly press the button that Hojo pressed to lock it. "That will not work." Hojo stated. "That is a grade A, well made, steel collar that I originally created to keep experiments of the animalistic type in sight. It's also used as a type of training device…but I modified it. Vincent, you must stay near me at all times. If you're further than twelve feet away from me, you will be shocked and yes…it will hurt. I'm sick and tired of you leaving against my wishes."

Chaos, who stood by Vincent, began to laugh uncontrollably. "Now you really are his bitch! Ahahahahahahahah! You can't press that button Vincent because Hojo locked it a certain way with his fingerprint! He made it special…so that it could be fool proof. Well, I'll bee…The old man is way smarter than I thought! He could have fooled me. Chaos circles Vincent slowly. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. What a shame…How low you've fallen. I tell you Vincent. None of this could have happened if you would just let me kill the old bastard, but no…You wanted to be difficult." Chaos says with an obnoxious tone of voice. "Well, you've really done it this time!!!!" Chaos folds his arms and snorts. "I don't thing that I'll help you anymore. Screw that." The winged demon gives Vincent the middle finger and then walks out of the room.

"That's inhumane!" Tseng protests. Hojo laughs and grabs Vincent by the hair. "Inhumane? This man is hardly human…four demons living inside of him, ready to come forth at any moment. That's hardly human, plus…He is my experiment." Tseng looks over at Vincent with wide eyes. He couldn't believe that the object of his affection was a person who was touched by the objects of Hojo's evil intentions. Vincent redirects his attention to the floor. "Vincent…is this…is this true?" Tseng questions. Before Vincent could answer, Hojo wraps Vincent's hair tightly around his hand and jerks him in his direction. Hojo cackled loudly. "Of course it's true!" Hojo states. "I'm the one who did it! He was a poor soul that was desperately clinging on to life after I shot him. Meddling in the affairs of others….gah! There's no need to dwell on something that's none of you're business." Vincent continued to look at the floor as Tseng stared at him and Hojo. "So what are you going to do now, Mr. Turk?!" Hojo then asks.

"I'm going to stay here with Vincent."

"Why is that? Are you afraid that I am going to hurt him?"

"What's it to you?"

"Don't get smart with me!"

Hojo yanked Vincent closer to him and placed his face right up to Vincent's ear. Hojo whispered, "You got lucky this time! I swear that next time…when you disobey me, I won't care who is in this room with me as I issue punishment! You hear me?!" Vincent nods. Hojo let's go of Vincent's hair and pushes him into Tseng. "I'm going to bed." Hojo states. "Vincent you have thirty minutes to be in here with me…" The scientist leaves the room, leaving Vincent with Tseng. The ex-Turk adjusts himself and then takes a few steps away from Tseng.

Vincent didn't know what to say. Ever since Vincent found out that Tseng had feelings for him, he was pondering on whether or not to tell Tseng the real truth about him. Hojo breaking the ice threw a monkey wrench into Vincent's plans. "My view of you didn't change at all. Well, I will be heading to bed as well. I see that the guest room is to my left so I can see my way there. Also, just to let you know, I will be leaving early in the morning…just so I can help Rufus with any issues that may arise before the ceremony and parade, ok?" Tseng states, but he then notices Vincent's depressed expression upon his face. Tseng approached Vincent and leaned in closely and states in a soft voice. "Cheer up. Everything will be ok. I'll make sure to get you out of here before Hojo destroys your psyche." He then gives Vincent a kiss on the cheek and heads into the guest room, closing the door behind him. Vincent's eyes widened and he looked back at the door to the guest room. "Huh?" Vincent says. His train of thought was then cut off by Hojo who said, "Hurry up, Vincent! I need you in here!" Vincent took off his coat and tossed it on a nearby chair.

Vincent entered Hojo's room and then immediately exits. Chaos, who was lying on the sofa, looked up to find that Vincent had broken out into a sweat and that he looked far paler than he was before entering the room. "What's wrong with you?!" Chaos asks.

Vincent could barely speak. He tried the best he could to convey to Chaos what he had seen, but all he could say was this, "Hojo…Hojo…He…He-"

-End of part 4-


End file.
